Wire floor question!

[LuellaJean]

Hey guys! I recently acquired a wooden hutch for my indoor bunnies. Its about 4 foot long by 2 foot wide and 2 foot high with a wire floor and a door in the front and a door on top. The front is enclosed with wire as is the floor. It needs some work- I'm going to give it a fresh coat of paint and replace the wire because it's dirty and kinda rusty.

Since my bunnies are indoor bunnies, I'm going to try to adapt this cage to use as an outdoor enclosure for them to use when it cools off this fall. I'm wanting to put it in the grass so they can munch on it and hang out safely outdoors without me watching them every second. However, my husband doesn't like them digging in the yard :rollseyes . So, my question is this: If I use some chicken wire kinda stuff to enclose the bottom so that they can eat the grass but not dig, will they be okay? I'm afraid they'll insist on trying to dig and they will hurt their little feet or toenails.

Thoughts? Thanks guys!

 

[Colorguarder08]

Well the hutch I have Freckles in has a solid floor as thats what I prefer to avoid potential foot problems with constant stress on certain areas. But I do have chicken wire around the front three sides of her cage and she does just fine.

 

[lagomorph]

I doubt they would dig until they hurt their feet, but I would try it without a floor to start with, if you really want to give them an outdoor set -up. Mine are big time diggers, but before we had our current set-up, we used to put them in a 4 x 4 ft enclosure out in the yard every afternoon (no floor). We found that when they were there only for the afternoon, they did not dig much. Perhaps it is because they dig to create a burrow, and they did not regard this enclosure as their home (which was, at the time, an 8 x 2 ft cage). They used to go through digging motions in their cage, but did very little of that when outside in the enclosure for "recess".

With the wire floor, it is harder for them to eat the grass, and therefore probably does not add much enrichment to their lives. And with a size of only 2 x 4 ft, frankly, I wouldn't bother. They would probably get more out of a larger indoor space to run around in, than a 2 x 4 ft outside cage with chicken wire over the grass.

 

[hillrise]

I use chicken wire for all of my lawn cages, and it works great for preventing digging. Just watch out for the wire sticking out near where it's cut--they hurt when they poke.